College students write a lot, but very few publish books. The publishing process can be lengthy and expensive, especially when it comes to editing, design and marketing.
However, it’s possible for aspiring writers to self-publish at a minimum cost.
Alina Baer, a senior studio art and journalism major, is a self-published author of three poetry and prose books on Amazon: “The Orange Crayon,” “Charcoal and Diamonds” and “Water on Jupiter.”
Baer published her first two books in April 2021, a process that she says took roughly a year and half from start to finish.
She says she learned about publishing through her own research and has been involved in all aspects of the process, from writing and editing to layout and cover design.
The only monetary cost for Baer was having to order copies of her books ahead of time to ensure that the formatting and design was error-free.
However, it’s a small price, given that writing is one of her passions.
“I've always been writing since a very young age and just being like a creative person in general and this story was very personal to me. ...” Baer said. “I just think it’s really important to put your voice out there.”
For Baer, the most difficult aspect of publishing books is promoting herself and her work.
“Just telling people like, ‘Hey, I published a book,’ is something I don’t do often,” Baer said.
Baer’s third book was published in February 2023, and she anticipates having a fourth book published this upcoming December.
Another student with published work is Catharina Le, a senior creative writing major, who self-published her chapbook “Lost in Loss” in fall 2023. The chapbook contains two personal essays surrounding the topic of grief and losing her grandfather.
She says that while one essay was written a few years ago, the other was for a writing class where the final assignment was to somehow share the writing with the public. One of the options was a chapbook: a small booklet that’s usually no more than 40 pages.
For Le, one of the more challenging parts of the process was the writing itself since she was processing her grandfather’s passing.
“It was a little hard to write and grieve at the same time. ...” Le said. “The first draft was mostly me getting everything out, like all my thoughts and emotions.”
Le edited her writing across multiple drafts, and through Otterbein’s copy center, Le was able to print her chapbook.
“When I test printed it for the first time, I was kind of like giggling to myself. I was like, ‘Oh my God, it's in my hands. It's stapled,’” Le said.
Although Le’s class required that students find a way to share their work publicly, such as placing copies somewhere for people to pick up, Le ended up going a step further.
Le works at Two Dollar Radio, a publishing house in Columbus that also doubles as a cafe, restaurant and bookstore. Though she had planned on using Two Dollar Radio as a place for anyone to pick up her chapbook, as per her assignment, Le was given the opportunity to sell her chapbook.
Later, in March 2024, Le was also invited to do a reading for her chapbook at Two Dollar Radio, where she saw many familiar faces including family, friends, classmates and her professor.
“It was just a great time to see people in support [of me] ... and seeing them coming to this event to see me read,” Le said.
Le says she looks forward to her senior writing project and hopes to publish a novel one day. She also says that she hadn’t known that the copy center could print chapbooks until she took the writing class and otherwise might have self-published more work.
Le further encourages students who are interested in publishing to ask about resources available.
“I think if you're planning or wanting to become an author, I think doing a small chapbook is a good experience to have. ...” Le said. “Take advantage of the resources that you have here.”
